As health issues are receiving more and more attention today, an increasing number of products that generate, emit or radiate negative ions are being released into the market. According to studies conducted by some research institutions around the world negative ions are believed to strengthen the body's immune system, enhance metabolism, alleviate stress and depression and help the body recovery from fatigue.
About 60 to 70% of the human body is composed of bodily fluid containing electrolytes and non-electrolytes. Electrolytes are composed of balanced negative and positive ions and it is widely believed that if this balance is compromised the human body will become more vulnerable to various illnesses. It is recognized within the medical profession that any difference in the distribution of ions enclosing human cells is significantly related to the body's nerve cells, and this may have an influence on the recovery of health or deterioration of an illness.
Negative and positive ions exist by using cellular walls as barriers, the cellular wall permeability differing in accordance with the amount of positive, negative, and dipolar electric potentials. Ions may move around the human body influenced by the strength or distribution of energy in the internal and external environment.
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are all around us, being generated by every day devices such as laptop computers, coffeemakers, televisions, and cellular phones as well as coming from broadcast sources and the like. Studies on what EMFs do to human and animal bodies suggest some disturbing results. In a recent study, it was suggested that mobile phone use may cause brain tumors through extended use of the mobile phone close to a user's head. Negative ions are believed to help counteract EMFs, which is just one of the benefits of using a negative ion emitting product on one's person.
Examples of recent negative ion generating household products include air conditioners, air humidifiers, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners which incorporate a piezo-electric negative ion generator. As it is commonly believed by the medical profession that around 80% of negative ions are absorbed through the skin whereas only 20% are inhaled, negative ion emitting personal accessory products worn in direct contact with the skin, such as bracelets and necklaces, are becoming increasingly popular with the general public.
One type of negative ion emitting or radiating personal wellness accessory product comprises a one-piece moulded silicone based bracelet containing in the silicone material a negative ion generating source material in powder form. However, it was found that mixing such powder in the silicone raw material prior to moulding had two significant disadvantages. Firstly, the powder weakened the molecular structure of the moulded silicone strap causing it to tear relatively easily by contrast with a strap moulded from pure silicone, i.e. from silicone not containing the powder. Secondly, the inclusion of the powder also changed the intended colour of the resulting product from that of the original colour of the silicone raw material. This was especially obvious in the case of white silicone where the resulting bracelet strap after moulding had a dull grey colour rather than the pristine white of the raw silicone material. Consequently, it was necessary to apply a pure white spray coating to the strap after moulding to regain the intended white colour in the final product. It has, however, been found that the spray coating is not durable for continuous use being partially depleted within a period of one to two months of normal use leading to erasure of the coating on parts of the bracelet strap and thus giving a worn look to the bracelet. Consequently, there is a need to address these and other problems associated with such negative ion emitting personal wellness accessory products.